


The Cat That Ate The Canary

by Ambroise



Series: Like Cat And Dog [1]
Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Cat Hannibal Lecter, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Dog Will Graham, Fluff, Fluff and Crack, Hannigram - Freeform, Love at First Sight, M/M, Smitten Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-13
Updated: 2020-07-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:02:06
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25248862
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ambroise/pseuds/Ambroise
Summary: Hannibal the cat wants nothing more than to make a hunting companion out of Will the dog.
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham/Hannibal Lecter
Series: Like Cat And Dog [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1829503
Comments: 16
Kudos: 215





	The Cat That Ate The Canary

**Author's Note:**

> Because Hannibal Lecter is like the cat that brings you dead animals and expects you to be pleased about it.

Part I.

There was an intruder in Hannibal's home. As if it wasn't infuriating enough, he had the displeasure of being drawn out of sleep by this unwelcome visitor's foul smell of dog hairs and cheap shampoo. It was frankly rude to invade his territory in such a manner, and he loathed rudeness so much that it made his fur rise on his back.

The Chartreux cat promptly jumped from his favorite spot on the desk and headed towards the source of the smell. He was in no way going to tolerate this intrusion without making his annoyance known to both the human and the dog. Soon he gracefully sat at the top of the stairs so he could stare down at the intruder.

And then Hannibal was struck by what he found—he had never seen such an exotically beautiful creature before.

The male dog was muscular and his coat was made of spots of various brown shades that created a harmonious patchwork, but his most eye-catching feature was undoubtedly his piercing blue eyes. It was a shame that they seemed so adamant on avoiding his gaze. Besides, the beast's entire demeanor clearly conveyed his discomfort, even if he was surprisingly too brave or foolish to feel scared. And where most dogs had no manners and felt an irrepressible need to sniff every new surface they encountered, this one was apparently able to refrain himself and behave properly. He was indeed calmly sitting by the front door, probably waiting for the human to come back.

How fascinating—he had the looks of a predator and the behavior of a prey. Hannibal came to silently judge the intruder and make him so uncomfortable that he would leave, yet here he was, suddenly willing to make his acquaintance. After all, he could tolerate a stranger in his home if it meant satisfying his natural curiosity.

“Yes, I just brought him home. It's a Catahoula Leopard Dog mix imported from Louisiana.” Chilton's voice could be heard from the living room. He was probably talking on the phone with one of his obnoxious friends. These rude people were always trying to pet and grab Hannibal without asking for permission, so he wouldn't be terribly upset if they were to perish in a fire. “I would have preferred a purebred, but I was told this one is a born hunter.”

So the newcomer was indeed a predator. But was he truly worthy of hunting with Hannibal? It remained to be seen.

For now, the polite thing to do was to introduce himself to the yet unamed dog since the human couldn't even be bothered to be a responsible pet owner.

The cat let out a soft sound in order to catch the dog's attention. Their eyes met at last, and Hannibal felt instantly overwhelmed by this cerulean blue gaze that seemed to look right through him. He suddenly found himself willing to never let go of these eyes and drown in their unfathomable depths. He had never seen such an intelligent glimmer in a dog's eyes before. It made him feel dangerously exposed and thrilled at the same time.

He would never have let go of this gaze if it wasn't for the human breaking their silent connection by yelling the dog's name from the kitchen. “Will, come here!” The dog rushed towards his new master's voice, proving how obedient he could be.

So this magnificent creature's name was Will. It wasn't terribly original, but it pleased Hannibal immensely. It was a short and strong name, one that expressed desire and was borne by kings and artists alike.

Perhaps Will and him could get rid of Chilton together, thus earning their freedom.

After regaining his composure, Hannibal quickly headed towards the kitchen, eager to introduce himself to Will.

The human had let go of his phone and was actually doing something productive by showing Will where his bowls were. If he had put them there sooner, Hannibal would have known that they were waiting for a guest and he could have prepared himself accordingly. Unfortunately, Chilton wasn't known for being thoughtful of others.

Hannibal decided to remind everyone of his existence by jumping on the counter. Besides, he liked to be tall. Being short wasn't really convenient for intimidating all life forms on Earth, after all.

Finally remembering that a cat also lived in the house, the incompetent pet owner greeted him. “Good to see you, Hannibal. Since you're here, let me introduce you to the new member of this household—Will. He's a bit shy, so go easy on him.” Then the Chartreux found himself being picked up and held in front of the sitting dog's face, much to the former's mortification.

He was about to protest this indignity but was once again struck by Will's stunning eyes, and so he stayed still in the human's arms, enjoying the view. Tentatively, the dog began to gently sniff Hannibal's face, wary of his reactions. But the latter was too overwhelmed by awe to even move a whisker.

When it became obvious that Hannibal wasn't going to tear him apart with his claws, Will even dared to delicately lick the shocked feline's nose. Poor Hannibal felt like he could die from the myriad of intense sensations burning through his body and be perfectly content with it. For the first time in his life, he lost control and began to loudly purr.

How demeaning.

“Hannibal, you can actually purr!” The human giggled. “You must really like Will. And here I thought you were going to try and eat him.”

How rude.

Hannibal toyed with the idea of eating the man's tongue in his sleep if he kept painting him in a bad light in front of Will.

Then the dog made an unexpectedly adorable noise for such a large beast, and Hannibal wanted nothing more than to hear this sound again and again. Will was a bewitching blend of contrasts. So shy and leery but at the same time so clearly eager to be accepted—he had most probably been abandoned in the past, and not only once but many times. It would be a challenge to get him to take his guard down, but in time he would understand that they didn't have to be alone anymore. How mesmerizing Will would look covered in blood after they had killed together for the first time.

Perhaps Hannibal was a little smitten.

Part II.

No one suspected the neighborhood's well-mannered cat of being a ruthless serial killer. Indeed, Hannibal took pleasure in killing pets in the most brutal ways and then displaying their bodies for their owners to find. As a consequence, the inhabitants of the well-off residential area were convinced some feral animals were lurking in the streets at night.

Hannibal didn't feel an ounce of guilt about his nightly activities and the sorrow it brought to the pet owners. In his opinion, he was cleaning the neighborhood of annoying and misbehaved creatures by indulging his killer instinct. With that in mind, he broke Franklyn's neck with his teeth, finally delivering the death blow to the insufferable canary he had been toying with for the past hours. Frankly, Franklyn's owner should thank him for putting her pet out of his misery: indeed, the pitiful animal used to spend all of his time locked in a cage, sadly twittering by the open window. Hannibal couldn't stand the incessant whining, and so he took care of the matter.

According to his modus operandi, Hannibal should take an organ home and leave the broken body of the pet for the owner to see, but this time he had something else in mind. Indeed, he had been watching his dear Will closely ever since they had met a few weeks ago, which was how he knew that his new housemate couldn't stand the loud bird either, and so he planned on offering him his corpse. Perhaps Will would be sufficiently pleased with his gift to share a bite with Hannibal. And then they would finally begin hunting together. With Will's precious help, their territory could be extended in no time, which would offer so much more killing opportunities.

Hannibal sneaked out of Franklyn's home and back into his own.

He found his beloved lying down by the fireplace, but not sleeping. The poor Will had trouble finding sleep every night and Hannibal didn't know how to help him since his companion didn't like it when he initiated contact. It broke Hannibal's heart, but it made gaining Will's trust all the more challenging and beautiful.

He approached him slowly so as not to seem threatening, but the hound still got up quickly, clearly wary of him. Hannibal carefully placed his offering on the floor, a few feet away from Will. Then he retreated a few steps before sitting down, giving his beloved some space.

Hannibal was quite proud of himself and impatient to see Will's reaction.

However, he wasn't rewarded with the reaction he was waiting for: eyes wide, his dear Will looked more upset than impressed.

Before he could try and explain his choice of gift, Will grabbed Franklyn's limp body with his fangs—and Hannibal's heart skipped a beat at this magnificent sight—before rushing outside through the pet door.

Hannibal considered himself an intelligent cat, but he didn't understand in the least what had just occurred. Did Will appreciate his gift after all? Was he going to eat Franklyn all by himself? Hannibal certainly hoped that he had misinterpreted Will's look of utter shock. It took him a few seconds to come out of his daze and follow after his companion.

He saw movement in the grove behind the house. He headed there and soon found Will frantically digging at the base of a tree. Then the dog opened his jaw and let Franklyn's body fall into the hole before beginning to fill it with dirt.

Dogs were definitely peculiar creatures, and Will even more so. It would make no sense to bury fresh meat as if it was a bone. So was Will actually... hiding the body? But why would he do so? Was he worried about being punished?

Hannibal was pondering the matter when he was suddenly hit by something fast. A little stunned, he was pinned to the ground before he could react. What an annoying surprise. He wanted Will to see him as the mighty predator he was, not as the prey of some inferior hunter. This rude enemy was going to pay dearly for making him look weak in front of Will.

Being stuck on his back was certainly a humiliating experience for Hannibal, but it also offered him the perfect opportunity to strike a vicious blow at his enemy's face. And he did so with such precision that he almost scratched the other cat's left eye out. The poor fighter let out a shriek of pain as he stumbled backwards, far from Hannibal and into the moonlight.

Hannibal then recognized him as the Abyssinian cat named Tobias who lived a few streets away but always seemed to be loitering in the neighborhood as of late, more precisely around Franklyn's house.

Perhaps Will's idea to hide the body wasn't so odd, after all. Hannibal should have noticed sooner that Tobias was also a hunter interested in killing Franklyn. Had he known, he would have killed him just after pissing him off by snatching his supposed prey from him right under his nose. Instead, he had been followed like a novice hunter due to his lack of observation and discretion. His fondness for Will had definitely rendered him careless.

Hannibal had to focus in order to deliver a beautiful execution of his opponent, but first he wanted to ensure that Will wouldn't miss the show. He took a quick glance at the base of the tree but Will was gone. The grave was filled but his beloved was nowhere to be seen.

Hannibal had a moment of alarm—what if Will had seen him being bested by such an unworthy foe but wouldn't witness his certain victory?

Taking his frustration out on the other cat, Hannibal hissed and spit at him, a crass behavior that was very much unlike him. He felt a burning desire to humiliate Tobias, who he held responsible for ruining his precious moment with Will. So he went for the kill.

Promptly crossing the distance between his enemy and himself, he jumped into the air and landed on Tobias's face. Then he began to maul him as severely as possible with his claws. Everything was a blur as he was acting purely on instinct for once.

However, after several minutes of lacerating Tobias's body, Hannibal was gradually losing his strength while his enemy was becoming more and more desperate to survive. Without either of them understanding how it came to be, Hannibal suddenly felt Tobias's teeth on his jugular and became very still. He couldn't lose! He couldn't be killed in such a plain manner! He couldn't die and never see Will again!

Then the pressure on his neck disappeared. As he slowly came out of his terror-induced daze, Hannibal saw Tobias's body being thrown onto Franklyn's fresh grave. And his dear Will was growling at the pitiful form of the cat.

His Will had come back to help him after all! His Will didn't want him to die! His Will cared!

Then, with the dangerous grace of a trained hunter, Will rushed towards his prey and snapped his neck with his powerful jaw. It happened so fast that Hannibal had trouble believing what he had just witnessed. He had never seen such a beautifully precise kill before.

His Will was a terrific killer—Tobias hadn't had a chance against this predator.

What a magnificent creature his mate was. It was all Hannibal had dreamt Will to be and more. It would have been a shame to die before being able to hunt with this incredible beast.

It made no doubt that they had a beautiful future ahead of them.

Abandoning Tobias's corpse on Franklyn's grave, Will calmly headed towards Hannibal. There wasn't a single drop of blood on him. And he didn't seem even a little fazed after his prowess.

Never had Hannibal ever been so impressed before.

Still stunned, he felt himself being gently picked up by Will's jaw—the same that had brutally murdered Tobias only a few moments ago—and became even more enamored with his mate.

Will was bringing him home.

It had only taken Hannibal almost getting killed to finally catch his attention.


End file.
